My Carnival Cruise Experience

Thursday afternoon, we set sail out of New Orleans with Carnival Cruise Lines headed to Cozumel, Mexico with a group of about 30 ladies, mostly who are members at Curves!  We were truly elated to be on board the Elation. =)  Cheesey, I know, but really, the Elation was fantastic and did not disappoint!

I'll break it down into three separate categories, the three F's: Food, Fun (On Ship), and Fun (On Land). =)

Food

When I went on my honeymoon cruise 7 years ago, the buffet lines were eh-ok.  The dinners in the formal dining rooms were delicious, but the portions were really small, so I was expecting more of the same.  However, I was pleasantly surprised!  Not only was I blown away by the buffets that I sampled (Italian, Mongolian Wok and Pizza), but the meals in the formal dining room were absolutely delicious. 

Now, I've read a few negative reviews that the food on cruise ships is not impressive.  Welll, I don't know what those reviewers ate, but I loved what I tried.  The fish & roasted veggies from the Italian buffet was so tasty (pictured below) that I actually forgot to take a picture before I devoured it!  The pizza was deliciously cheesy and greasy and exactly what I wanted after a morning in the sun! The pork & veggies stir fry with teriyaki sauce was delicious and healthy. 

The dining room menu had a wide variety of choices.  It had such a wide variety that I was forced on more than one night to order three different appetizers, plus a main course, and dessert. 

Oh, and don't even get me started on how amazing the desserts were!  All in all, I was very impressed with the food that was served on the ship!

Fun (On Ship)

The Elation had plenty of fun activities for the days we were "at sea."  They had many group activities that my little core group (made up of me, my sis, my mom and my aunt) avoided because we're more "lay out and enjoy the sunshine" types than "join the crowd for crazy fun" types. 

However, our days at sea were accompanied by clouds and wind.  On our final day at sea, as our ship was getting further and further away from the Caribbean, it was getting chillier and chillier.  So, we ventured inside to see what we could find.  We ended up playing a game of Win, Lose or Draw and then participated in a Scavenger Hunt.  And let it be known that we won . . . both!  That had nothing to do with me, really. We simply had a very talented artist and some pretty talented scavengers in our group. =)

The ship also had different performances and shows each evening.  Now, if I'm being completely honest, most of those shows started entirely too late for my taste.  I mean, a show that starts at 9:00?  Really???  If you know me at all, then you know that I'm usually in bed watching Seinfeld by that time! ;) 

My favorite performance was given by Erin and the Elation Band.  This girl is so talented!!

We snapped a picture with her because I just know that she'll end up being famous someday. ;)

Fun (On Land)

Finally, we get to the part y'all are really interested in.  Mexico!!  (Said with a spanish accent) If you didn't use the spanish accent, go back and try again! It'll make the whole experience that much better. ;)

We had loads of excursions to choose from, but we ended up choosing the Mayan Ruins & Beach excursion. I guess some people like a little history lesson with their vacation. ;)  We had a fantastic tour guide, who was really funny and informative . . . at the same time.  I know, it takes true talent to inject humor into a lecture about ruins that are as old as time. 

This iguana seriously tried to attack us! Or it ran away in fear, but to me, it felt like it was running right for me every time it so much as twitched! ;)

After the trip to the Ruins, we went to a little private beach. The water was beautiful!! 

I'm sure I'm biased, but I still think the white sand in the panhandle of Florida is prettier. ;)

And that's about it, y'all! I had a great time, but I'm happy to be home, sleeping in my own bed and getting up all hours of the night with my munchkins. ;)

Have any of you ever cruised?  How did you like it?

Stay tuned for more fashion related posts from Days 2 and 3! =)